Michigan State 79, Illinois 65 Postgame

I'm not into conspiracy theories or anything like that although I'm convinced I'm being tailed by KGB and/or FBI agents and other aliens.

Should we consider sabotage? Or is it just sheer stupidity?

Our federal government has yet to explain what those mysterious lights were all about.

Speaking of ineptitude, I'm writing a book about the 1950s Chicago Cubs.

Beat Wisconsin.

sharpshot16 said:

Now that the emotional responses are done.

Last night was lost from coaching rotational mistakes. All on Brad. Utter garbage.

Tre got into it with him one practice and his ego can't let it go. Most coaches would see it as fire and have a 1-1 conversation where they appreciate criticism and to simply not do it in front of others. No idea on DGL/Jake.

MSU was fresh in the final 10 and we weren't. Keeping up with the best transition team in the BIG10 on a 7 man rotation is horrible game plan.

Go back and watch the span. Jacking 3s is a sign of exhaustion because it's the easiest shot to get. You don't need to cut or bang with anyone. Ben, tomi, KJ and Will were all missing short. And everyone is coming off sickness and injury. Their conditioning isn't going to be where it should.

How our coaching staff doesn't see this in game blows my mind.

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Excellent, excellent analysis. Illinois was totally gassed by halfway into the second half.

How can young men, college athletes, be gassed? I don't understand.

SAELION said:

Excellent, excellent analysis. Illinois was totally gassed by halfway into the second half.

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Well, then … it’s gotta be Fletch’s fault, right?

jmm said:

Duke should be,um,eh, explosive diarrhea.

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And projectile vomit.

jmm said:

And it seemed like it was after two plays later when they actually called it. Or at least one.

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Referees don't rule on a questionable goal tending call until there is a stoppage in play. Then they review the replay on the monitor and reverse the call if needed. Been that way for years and happens a lot.

jmwillini said:

On the banner kerfuffle, snafu, fubar, #U#@ up. Has Josh or anyone said anything on how they managed to screw that up? I really don't see how you could do that without doing it intentionally. Or the person who did it is the most inept person in the history of ineptitude.

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To refer to them as inept would be a total insult to ineptitude.

Confused. I thought TA already landed. Clarification please. Thanks.

I was there and tbh, I'm not rereading the last 31 pages. The execution in the last roughly ten minutes with a massive foul disparity in our favor and success in the paint was ugly.
That being said, Morez is a !!!!ing dude that I would go to war with. The impact he made opposite to where I was sitting was sickening in real time.

Correction: I believe we only made 25.

I've seen too many indications of individual toughness with this team and not enough team toughness in the individuals.
Get your @#$7 together. Stop making it difficult.

Keisersose said:

Maybe it’s because we struggle to inbound the ball sometimes?

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We struggle to inbound the ball. We struggle to run an actual offense.

What are we doing in practice?? Like seriously, how do they fill the time?

And I'm tired of people blaming players on the team. If you watched any other team (at any level) whose players consistently took terrible shots, ran no offense, and didn't value possessions who would you blame? I've watched jr high teams jack up 3's when most of their roster couldn't even shoot that far. Is it their fault? No. They are doing what their coaches have allowed them to do and what their coaches have encouraged. This is no different. Anyone on this board who can legitimately look someone in the face and say the problem with this team is Ben Humrichous (or whoever they want to target this week) is delusional. The players are doing what they have been prepared to do. The blame falls squarely on Brad. You cannot make the money he makes and be the face of the program and not be the person to point to when it all goes to the trash. People need to stop saying crap about players who are out there with what appears to be very little support from the staff. No game plans. No consistency with minutes this far into the season. No recognition of strengths and weaknesses. If I was wrong on any of this I think you might see a different Brad in games. He sits there relatively silent. He's not mad at anyone. No yelling, no fire. Why? Cause they are doing exactly what they have been prepared to do. Chuck up shots. Which will do nothing but allow us to continue to underperform with a very talented roster. Great recruiters do not make great coaches. Might be the biggest lesson we are learning in the NIL era.

Morez is getting the Danja treatment. Everytime Danja came on the floor he provided a spark but hE dOEsnT SpPaCEe TttHEE FlloOOrrr derp derp - so we can’t play him.

Now Dain is killing it as the starting center on a near top 10 team. It’s looking like Morez will be a star, just not for us because of “floor spacing”

The Dying Illini said:

Many online refuse to believe this is true but its blatantly obvious now. Brad flat out missed on his evals of Humrichous, Tre and Booth.

Probably has been said in this thread so my apologies if I am beating the dead horse but Brad needs to re-evaluate his Xs and Os next year. If that means bringing in someone else and allowing a few departures to other staffs so be it.

Something needs to be done. If this team was not as good of a rebounding team as they are we'd have a lot less wins.

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I’d add Boswell to that list. He was our biggest portal get and he’s shooting 38% and 23% 2pt/3pt respectively- awful.

The Dying Illini said:

Many online refuse to believe this is true but its blatantly obvious now. Brad flat out missed on his evals of Humrichous, Tre and Booth.

Probably has been said in this thread so my apologies if I am beating the dead horse but Brad needs to re-evaluate his Xs and Os next year. If that means bringing in someone else and allowing a few departures to other staffs so be it.

Something needs to be done. If this team was not as good of a rebounding team as they are we'd have a lot less wins.

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Booth-agree
Tre-(skill) disagree
(jury still out on locker room)
Hum-neutral: would have been fine as an off-the-bench role player at about 12-17 minutes a game. IF he’d had another year to adjust to this level it might have made a lot of difference. But for big money-no way.

Yep, Boswell is getting the high school rank respect over a lower ranked guy in DGL who is most certainly a more dynamic player.

Reminds me of Luke Ford and Tip Reiman. One guy had all the HS accolades, and the other ended up in the NFL. You see how frustrated DGL is. He will certainly be a contributor somewhere next year

Everyone has probably stopped reading these posts but there are 3 things I'd like to add that have been touched on maybe once in the previous 31 pages:
1) Brad started marketing KJ as a lottery pick back in late November/early December. We also know there is a Lithuanian in the mix for next year. Clearly, this new recruiting paradigm is going to be a focus going forward and seeing a freshman go in the 1st round bolsters their chances for creating a pipeline of European players. Which AC is responsible for this new avenue? But, I do not think KJ is a lottery pick (Brad mentions it as if it were a foregone conclusion) and this brings me to my 2nd point...
2) It seems the true youthfulness of the current roster has just started to hit us recently. Several posters on this thread are now mentioning it. But think about this: if KJ stays another year (remember that Europeans think differently about the NBA) and you return the other key pieces of this roster, imagine the growth in all areas we will likely see heading into next season? Without a doubt, this roster...a year from now...would be a contender for a natty but only if we get to my 3rd point...
3) Why did the Philadelphia Eagles struggle so much 2 years ago after almost beating the Chiefs in the Super Bowl? The overwhelming majority cited the exit of the OC and DC. Sirianni was exposed as completely inept at providing any guidance in either area. This past year, Moore and Fangio came on board and, notwithstanding the addition of Barkley, the best roster in football gradually came together and peaked 2 weeks ago. Brad is not as bad as Sirianni in all aspects but he is when it comes to X's and O's (as many have said ad nauseum). If Illinois wants to re-live what happened about 20 years ago, they need to find a way to retain the current roster (I think Ben is gone after this season), including KJ (it can be done), hire two legit "coordinators", and add a couple of veteran players to fill key needs and provide leadership.

Then Brad can sit back and truly allow the two ACs to manage the offense/defense while he and the other two key assistants keep recruiting.

New Creation said:

I think this is the Brad we need to see right now..

https://twitter.com/x/status/1600290210666799107

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Yep, classy guy.

We will win at Wisconsin for sure because this team is infuriating. I'm not joking

steveinspringfield said:

1. Not playing Tre and limiting DGL's minutes is coaching malpractice. Plain and Simple. Those 2 and MJ will be in the portal. Who could blame them?
2. The upside-down hanging of Shannon's jersey was on purpose. No way you hang that jersey upside-down by accident. A 5th-grader couldn't make that mistake. Someone wanted to make a statement . . . and they did.
3. KJ is not a top 5 pick. Top 50 maybe.
4. Tomi is just soft. Maybe he's sick, idk. But he has no physical presence offensively or defensively.
4. Brad cannot adjust in-game and is depending on his nepotic son to do it. Results are as to be expected.
5. I'm going to miss Morez Johnson more than any of them. He's going to be a star somewhere.
6. Brad's not leaving. No one is going to pay him more than the $4.6 million he makes. Even Matt Painter (a much better X's and O's coach) makes less than Brad.
7. Most here won't like my criticism of Brad. I remember Groce and Weber had their defenders, too. So, I don't care. Eventually, people will see the light. Illinois can do better.

How do you not play Tre White unless he's hurt? Shameful.

(Yes, I'll admit it. I'm upset. This season HAD so much promise.)

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sorry, this is just

steveinspringfield said:

1. Not playing Tre and limiting DGL's minutes is coaching malpractice. Plain and Simple. Those 2 and MJ will be in the portal. Who could blame them?
2. The upside-down hanging of Shannon's jersey was on purpose. No way you hang that jersey upside-down by accident. A 5th-grader couldn't make that mistake. Someone wanted to make a statement . . . and they did.
3. KJ is not a top 5 pick. Top 50 maybe.
4. Tomi is just soft. Maybe he's sick, idk. But he has no physical presence offensively or defensively.
4. Brad cannot adjust in-game and is depending on his nepotic son to do it. Results are as to be expected.
5. I'm going to miss Morez Johnson more than any of them. He's going to be a star somewhere.
6. Brad's not leaving. No one is going to pay him more than the $4.6 million he makes. Even Matt Painter (a much better X's and O's coach) makes less than Brad.
7. Most here won't like my criticism of Brad. I remember Groce and Weber had their defenders, too. So, I don't care. Eventually, people will see the light. Illinois can do better.

How do you not play Tre White unless he's hurt? Shameful.

(Yes, I'll admit it. I'm upset. This season HAD so much promise.)

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Brad is on no where never the low level of Groce or Bruce. He is an obvious step above Bruce and 4 steps above Groce. But if he doesn’t make some changes he will begin to put on that Bruce Weber level - ( thank you for what you did for us, but time to move on, and maybe he moves on to KSU or Texas )

Right now it’s all about March. Getting the Ryan Day feels right now with our fan base. A deep March run makes all of us forgive and move to the next year. But if this team doesn’t make it out of the 1st round, be prepared for serious staff changes. If this team makes the S-16 or better. No one is going any where including MJ

IMPE Legend said:

We struggle to inbound the ball. We struggle to run an actual offense.

What are we doing in practice?? Like seriously, how do they fill the time?

And I'm tired of people blaming players on the team. If you watched any other team (at any level) whose players consistently took terrible shots, ran no offense, and didn't value possessions who would you blame? I've watched jr high teams jack up 3's when most of their roster couldn't even shoot that far. Is it their fault? No. They are doing what their coaches have allowed them to do and what their coaches have encouraged. This is no different. Anyone on this board who can legitimately look someone in the face and say the problem with this team is Ben Humrichous (or whoever they want to target this week) is delusional. The players are doing what they have been prepared to do. The blame falls squarely on Brad. You cannot make the money he makes and be the face of the program and not be the person to point to when it all goes to the trash. People need to stop saying crap about players who are out there with what appears to be very little support from the staff. No game plans. No consistency with minutes this far into the season. No recognition of strengths and weaknesses. If I was wrong on any of this I think you might see a different Brad in games. He sits there relatively silent. He's not mad at anyone. No yelling, no fire. Why? Cause they are doing exactly what they have been prepared to do. Chuck up shots. Which will do nothing but allow us to continue to underperform with a very talented roster. Great recruiters do not make great coaches. Might be the biggest lesson we are learning in the NIL era.

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1,000 %

The Dying Illini said:

Many online refuse to believe this is true but its blatantly obvious now. Brad flat out missed on his evals of Humrichous, Tre and Booth.

Probably has been said in this thread so my apologies if I am beating the dead horse but Brad needs to re-evaluate his Xs and Os next year. If that means bringing in someone else and allowing a few departures to other staffs so be it.

Something needs to be done. If this team was not as good of a rebounding team as they are we'd have a lot less wins.

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On the other hand If they could hit threes at a reasonable rate consistently, there would be a lot less chances for rebounds
and
We might have a few more wins

steveinspringfield said:

Wait until Morez, DGL, and Tre enter the portal. Next year should be fun. I'd be shocked if any one of them stay for this mess.
Of course, Brad will just reload. You know, like he did this year.

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Im less confident on our abilities to"reload".

It's easier to reload with a seasoned staff coming off elite 8.

Tougher to reload if all players are transferring and your recruiting staff are relatively green.

steveinspringfield said:

I really dislike Izzo and his whiny antics. But does anyone think Izzo would let the wheels fall off like Brad did tonight? Izzo would have been halfway to the basket looking to rip his players for play like that. Brad just takes the check. He's paid way too much for this trainwreck. Move on.

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Tom Izzo is a quality individual and a great coach. Brad appears to think he has a lifetime job in Champaign. Lets hope not.